Dinner Plans
by JillianCasey
Summary: Castle and Beckett meet Alexis's new boyfriend. Oneshot.


When Kate walks in to the kitchen and sees Rick inspecting two very large knives, she knows she's in for one of _those_ nights.

"The toaster would be better."

He jumps when he hears her voice, and Kate tries not to smirk as he whirls around to look at her.

"What?"

"To check out your reflection," she clarifies. "The toaster is stainless steel. Much bigger. And less creepy. Though I suppose they call you the Master of the Macabre for a reason."

He makes a face. "Very funny. How long have you been standing there plotting that one?"

"How long have you been examining kitchen knives?"

He ignores her question and holds the knives up. "Which one do you think is shinier?"

Kate glances between the two knives quickly. "They're equally shiny."

"Nope, no, they're not. See this one has this water spot…" Kate watches as he hunches over, examining the knives like he examines scotch labels. "But this one has this little brown stain. See it? It's right here…"

When he looks up and sees that she's staring at him instead of the knives he straightens. "You're not humoring me."

"I'm not an enabler."

"I'm in emotional distress."

"You're your mother's son, that's what you are."

He surprises her when he tosses the knives in the sink with a clash, sets his elbows on the counter, and buries his head in his hands. She waits a minute, wondering if this is like the time he pretended Black Pawn had let him go for April Fool's Day (for the record she was not amused, he slept on the couch that night, and she got him back really good a week later), but what he says clues her in that it's not a joke.

"I don't want to do this."

His voice is soft and childlike and muffled because of his hands. Kate sighs, because she's known all along that his daughter is his kryptonite. He's spent the better part of a week denying that tonight will be difficult, but Kate can see through his bullshit so easily it's as if she's inside his brain.

She moves across the kitchen toward him, her heels clicking on the floor. She stops next to him and rests her hand on his back.

"Rick."

He doesn't move. She rubs gentle circles on his back for a minute, and then tries again.

"Rick, look at me."

He turns his face toward her, his hands balled up and resting against his temple.

"Hey," she says, unable to stop a smile.

"Hey," he breathes back.

She nods at the sink. "What's with the knives?"

He sighs dramatically. "I was hoping that if I was chopping something when he came in and the knife was shiny and I had the right look on my face he might run away and let me have my little girl back."

It's the sweetest thing she's probably ever heard come out of his mouth. She tilts her head and smiles softly. "He's not taking Alexis away from you."

"Yes he is. He's going to get her a shiny ring—she likes shiny things, she got that from me—and then they're going to move away and take pictures and save lives and giggle and I'll never ever see her again."

There's a childish pout in his tone, but Kate can see the concern in his eyes. The sadness.

"I think a ring is a little far off in the future, don't you? She hasn't been with him very long. Tonight's the first time we're meeting him."

"She told you that he was _the one_."

"Well, yes, but—"

"That's how it starts. It starts with gushing and ends with a ring and moving to the other side of the world away from me."

"If they did move to other side of the world—which I don't think will happen—then you could fly out and see her any time you want."

"It's not the same."

"It hasn't been the same for a while," she points out. "She hasn't lived with you in years. She's in med school. She's grown up now. You can't ungrow her."

He stares over her shoulder and mulls over the truth in her words for a little while. When he meets her eyes again, there's a little less sadness. "You're not going anywhere are you?"

She smiles at that. "No. You're stuck with me until we're old and gray and we have those little pillboxes with a different section for each day of the week."

He squints at her like he's trying to make a deal. "Can we give each of my Flintstones Vitamins' characters its own day?"

"Sure."

That seems to satisfy him, at least for now. He finally stands up straight. Kate steps toward him and presses her body into his, clutching the front of his suit jacket in her hands. His arms envelop her automatically.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?" He's running a hand through her hair, his gaze following his hand.

"What exactly were you planning to chop?"

He meets her eyes. "What?"

"With the knives," she says, nodding at the sink. "What were you going to chop?"

"Tomatoes. They're juicy and red and I could make it look like blood."

Kate tries to stifle a grin. "We're ordering out. Why would you be chopping tomatoes?"

He shakes his head. "Minor detail. I'd make it work."

She's stopped from saying anything else by the sound of a knock on the front door. They both turn to look at the door, and then back at each other. Kate disentangles herself from his embrace to let Alexis and her new boyfriend in.

"Put the knives away," she tells him.

He grabs her wrist as she moves away from him. She turns back around. "The tomatoes could work. We could serve them as an appetizer."

Kate gives him a look. "This night is important to your daughter. Be on your best behavior."

"Where's your gun?"

"Best. Behavior," she repeats, pulling her wrist from his grasp. "Or there will be consequences."

"I know you did a background check on him," Rick calls as she heads for the door.

Kate smirks but doesn't answer, because there's nothing to say. She did do a background check.

X-X-X-X-X

"So, Brad," Kate says after they've settled down at the table with dinner and wine. "Alexis tells us you're a photographer."

"Yes," Brad says, glancing at Alexis with a shy smile. Alexis beams back, and it's about the cutest thing Kate's ever seen.

"What sort of things do you take pictures of?" she asks.

"Well lately I've been really into city landscapes. Especially scenes where I can show some type of nature against the backdrop of New York's metallic man-made structures. I think the contrast is really fascinating, something that my generation really has to deal with every day."

"Do you ever take pictures of people?" Rick asks.

Kate nods at him approvingly, because even though he hasn't touched his lobster and has been staring at Brad mercilessly since they sat down, at least he's making an effort.

"Sometimes," Brad says. "Alexis is actually a really great model." He smiles at her again, and Kate watches a fierce blush rush over the red head's cheeks. "Her hair looks really great in the sunlight."

"What about nude people?"

Kate's fork clatters onto her plate at the same time Alexis whips her head around to stare at her father, mortified.

"Dad," she hisses, and it intermingles with Kate's low, "_Rick_."

Rick shrugs. "I was just wondering. I thought nudity was a part of art."

Brad smiles kindly, even though his face is the color of Rick's lobster. "It is, Mr. Castle. You're right. It's just not a style I'm interested in."

The two men survey each other from opposite ends of the table silently. Alexis catches Kate's eye and gives her a _help me_ look.

"I heard you sold a photo last week," Kate blurts out, picking up her fork. "That's great."

Brad turns his attention to her and smiles. "I did. Thanks."

"At the Clark Saluan Gallery," Alexis adds. "That's one of the most well known galleries in Manhattan. Mr. Saluan himself liked Brad's work so much that he wants to do a show of just Brad's work, no other photographers."

"Very impressive," Kate says. She sends a scorching look in Rick's direction. "Don't you think, _honey_?"

Rick swallows a large gulp of wine and then nods. "Yeah, of course. Do you uh, do you get paid for being in galleries, Brad?"

Alexis is now glaring openly at her father with a wrath that Kate rarely sees. Rick ignores her, intent on his stare down with Brad.

"Someone has to buy one of my photos," Brad explains. "Which they did, last week."

"Make a nice chunk of change?" Rick asks. "Enough to pay your rent?"

Kate darts her hand under the table and sinks her nails into Rick's thigh. His body jolts from the surprise or the pain, maybe both, and Kate smiles sweetly at Brad. She grabs her phone from the table.

"Can you two excuse us for a minute? I forgot we need to call the precinct and check in with my detectives. High profile case."

She stands up, but Rick doesn't follow suit. She gives him the look, and he moves out of his chair instantly. "Right. The precinct. Excuse us."

Rick heads toward his office, but Kate steers him toward the stairs. He sends her a questioning look over his shoulder.

"We'll make the call upstairs," she says. Alexis and Brad can hear them so her voice is honeyed, belying the fury in her glare that only Rick can see. Neither of them speaks until she's shoved him over the threshold of the guest bedroom and shuts the door. She sets her phone on the dresser by the door.

"Kate—"

"Don't you Kate me," she interrupts, pointing a finger at him. "You're acting like a _prick_."

"A prick?" he repeats, his eyes flashing. "At least I'm not fawning all over him."

"_I'm_ being polite," she counters. "You're…I don't know what the hell you're doing. But I'm going to break your knee caps if you don't cut it out."

"He's just so…"

"So _what_? Polite? Articulate? In love with your daughter?"

Rick sputters at her for a moment, his cheeks flushed with emotion, and then he sighs heavily and falls back onto the bed.

"All of the above," he moans, his arms falling next to him so that he's spread eagle and staring at the ceiling.

She stands there for a long moment with her hands on her hips. She's thinking about how he's acting like a child and she's furious with him for Alexis's sake but somehow she's never loved him more. She contemplates snuggling up next to him on the bed, running her fingers through his hair and speaking softly to him about how everything will be okay. But that's not what he needs. What he needs is a kick in the ass, some tough love so that he'll realize that acting like this isn't going to keep Alexis close. It's going to push her away.

She moves across the room and stops at the end of the bed. She stands in between his legs and nudges his knee with hers.

"Hey. Castle."

He lifts his head up. "I'm a prick."

"_Acting_ like a prick," she corrects.

"Splitting hairs," he says, waving his hand.

She leans forward, places a hand on each of his knees and looks him straight in the eye. "Your daughter is grown up, Rick. It's time for you to do the same. Right now."

His gaze darts downward and Kate bites her lip to stifle a smirk. Only Rick would look down her dress during a lecture on growing up.

When he meets her eyes again she arches an eyebrow at him. "See anything you like?"

"If I say yes are you going to hurt me?"

"I'm going to hurt you if you don't get your ass downstairs and be the charming, _cool_ dad we both know you are."

He sighs. He moves into a sitting position and she takes her hands off his knees and straightens too. She's still standing in between his legs. He reaches around her and runs his fingers over the backs of her thighs. Kate threads her fingers into his hair and stares down at him.

"You know it could be worse."

He looks up at her, his fingers still tracing over her skin. "How?"

"She could've brought home a guy like you."

She gives him a wicked smile. Mischievousness flickers in his eyes. The second he flattens his hands against her legs and starts moving them slowly upward she knows she's in trouble.

"Your dad loved me," he whispers, moving his forehead so that it rests against her abdomen. Kate feels her stomach tighten and the rhythm of her hands in his hair hiccups. His hands reach the backs of her knees.

"You were charming," she murmurs. "Not a prick at all."

He moves his hands higher and then around to her front, so that he's tracing the skin of her inner thighs and still moving higher. His mouth is dangerously close to a place it really shouldn't be with Alexis and Brad waiting downstairs. Kate's eyes flutter closed.

"I wanted to make a good impression," he murmurs, his mouth against her through the fabric of her dress. His voice vibrates through her and she swallows. They can't do this. Not now. She tugs on his hair, forcing him to look up at her.

"Not going to happen."

He grins, traces his hands back down her thighs, and then holds her eyes defiantly as he inches her dress upward. "Maybe it'll help me loosen up."

She darts her hands down and shoves his out of the way, then readjusts her dress. "We're supposed to be calling the precinct, not having a quickie. Your daughter is downstairs."

He pushes himself up off the bed, and when Kate tries to step away to give him room he snakes an arm around her waist. He leans forward, as if he's going for her mouth, and then turns at the last second. He trails his tongue over a spot just under her ear. "We don't have to call the precinct," he murmurs. "You made that up."

He smells good, his breath is warm on her skin, and damn him if he isn't grabbing her ass to hold her hips against his.

"I mean come on, Kate." His voice is a predatory purr, and heat washes over her. "Alexis and Brad are completely aware of the fact that we did _not_ come up here to call the precinct."

She shoves his chest so that he'll stop doing that thing with his tongue that makes her toes curl. He leans away and looks at her. "They think I'm yelling at you for being a prick. Not letting you feel me up."

"You can yell at me while I feel you up. You're great at multitasking."

He bends a little so that he can trace his fingers along her inner thigh again. She gives him a death glare, but not before she bites her lip.

"I _will_ hurt you," she warns, but it's an empty threat and they both know it.

"Promise?"

He smiles at her, that crooked grin that charms the pants right off her. That's the problem, really. That his smile can get her pants off. Or her dress, in this case. She lunges at him, her tongue sliding into his mouth the second their lips meet. For a while she forgets everything and kisses him, her attention shifting between his roaming hands and his mouth on hers. And then her phone rings.

She shoves him away from her so hard he falls back on the bed. "I'm going to kill you," she whispers fiercely, heading for the dresser where her phone is sitting.

"You can't kill me just because I'm irresistible," he answers with a leer.

Her phone is already halfway to her ear. "Justifiable homicide," and then, "Beckett."

"Yo. Got a hit on Johnson's lady friend."

"And?"

Rick is rising from the bed, walking toward her with that predatory glint in his eye, and she points at him to tell him to stop. He doesn't. She backs away, trying to focus on what Esposito is saying. Something about Molly and an apartment in Midtown and Rick raking his eyes from her toes to her…

She's backed up against the wall in between the closed door and the dresser.

"Tell him you can talk about it tomorrow," Rick whispers in the ear that doesn't have her phone pressed up to it.

Kate wraps her fingers around his tie. "Esposito," she says after clearing her throat.

"Yeah," Esposito says.

Kate nips at Rick's jaw line. "Castle changed his mind about being on your indoor soccer team. Here, he wants to talk to you."

She presses the phone to Rick's ear in the same instant she shoves against his chest, pushing him away from her. She can hear Esposito's voice on the phone but she can't understand what he's saying. Rick is staring at her openmouthed. She blows a kiss at him as she opens the door and the slides out of the bedroom slyly.

"Yeah, I'm totally excited," she hears Rick say from the bedroom. She can't stifle a grin.

When she gets back downstairs she smoothes her dress and smiles at Alexis. "Your dad is talking to Detective Esposito."

"Did you…" Alexis darts her gaze to Brad and then back to Kate. "Get everything worked out? You know, with the case."

"Of course."

Alexis smile gratefully. "You always do."

The sound of Rick's footsteps can be heard on the stairs, and Kate turns around. Rick's staring her down, obviously trying to bite back whatever it is he wants to say, and she smiles sweetly. "Esposito get you all filled in?"

He stops next to her and puts his hand on the small of her back. "Sure did, _sweetheart_."

His hand drops an inch or two, closer to her ass, and Kate gives him the death look.

"Um…Dad?"

Both Kate and Rick turn their attention to Alexis. The red head smirks and points at her father.

"You've got lipstick on your neck."


End file.
